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Aftershock
Aftershock is a stealth/platforming game developed by TimeStrike and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis, being the last entry in the trilogy of Sega Genesis titles developed by TimeStrike. It was developed around the same time as BowieQuest and Crescent Kicker as part of a three-title deal with Sega. The fictional planet Zapka lost all its electricity in a fierce geomagnetic storm that severely damaged its power grid. With the origin being from the mysterious and uncharted Sukapec Diamond region, scientists quickly realized that something suspicious was occurring there, and dispatched a young man named Anthony Bell to search the region. He was chosen because a physics-defying lightning strike during the storm hit him head-on and gave him electricity powers- now a reluctant young hero, he's pushed along to investigate the ongoing storm's origins and figure out how to put it to rest. Anthony Bell is a strange man that can power machines and devices with his own bare hands, zap through the air with an instant double jump, and attract and repel metallic objects around him as well as grapple through the air. He can also charge his body to utilize the Lightning Rod weapon, which he can use to paralyze enemies at minimal charge or straight-up knock them down at full charge. Anthony Bell must avoid detection and chart what he can of the Sukapec Diamond. Of TimeStrike's games of the era, Aftershock was thought by critics and fans to be the company's most forgiving title, with a relaxed control scheme and stronger focus on evasion than combat. With little emphasis on storytelling, the game was seen as the polar opposite to the company's own Crescent Kicker. Plot Manual introduction :Zapka is a strange world that's always been ahead of its time whenever it came to technological advancements and infrastructure, seen as the leader of the new society revolution sweeping the cosmos. Having ditched the by-hand ways of the old world, Zapka took huge strides to ensure that everything could be done by machine, whether it was something you could physically operate or simply watch do the work for you. It was a world that prohibited discrimination and judgment, with the power of society being in the hands of the people where it belonged. And things remained that way for eons, as planned by Zapka's top-notch government officials. :Found across this eco-friendly sphere of steel, however, is the mysterious and uncharted "Sukapec Diamond". It's an area of Zapka that's believed to be its own world, with its own metropolis and atmosphere that defy the laws and culture of the world around it. The Sukapec Diamond has also become prone to suspicions by the government when a powerful geomagnetic storm brewed there, escaping the confines of the diamond and severely damaging the world's power grid! With blots of electricity still spotted in the diamond, reluctant hero Anthony Bell from capital city Kazaoplis is sent to investigate the area and zap up anyone in his way. :Anthony Bell has little clue of what happens at the Sukapec Diamond, however- once a trespasser heads in, they are never seen or heard from again. When Bell takes his expedition into the harshest corners of Zapka, he sees why all too soon- it's an anarchic world littered with savages, with everyone in the region being blessed with the same powers as Anthony Bell! There's no time to waste, however- Anthony Bell's mother is risking death at the hands of a brain tumor, and he doesn't have much time to spare before she passes away. Can he overcome the restraints of his powers and find the solution to shutting down the geomagnetic storm without getting detected? Endings The player's ending depends largely on how much time they spend navigating the Sukapec Diamond. *'Ending A': If they finish the game with a time clocking over five hours, *'Ending B': If the player beats the game under five hours, *'Ending C': Should the player beat the game 100% under five hours, *'Ending D': If the player reaches the final boss under one hour, meaning skipping much of the game's bosses and diamond collectibles, The game's endings, true final boss, and one character are all marked in spoilerhide tags. Read the rest of the article before reading them! Gameplay In Aftershock, the player must navigate the twisting and winding passages of the Sukapec Diamond, with their aim being to seek out the source of the geomagnetic storm. The layout of the Sukapec Diamond world is open-ended, ditching the linear style previous TimeStrike games BowieQuest and Crescent Kicker adapted. As Anthony Bell explores this strange world, he must gather powerups to enhance his abilities and scrolls that will stretch the limits of his electrical powers. Much of these enhancements are a necessity for reaching new places or overcoming threatening enemies. At the start of the game, Anthony will have only the Lightning Rod attack, which can't even kill any enemies at first. As the player explores this strange postmodern world, he will eventually come to boast all of his signature abilities, being capable of killing anything in sight. What separates this game from the Metroidvania genre is the fact that Anthony must avoid being seen at all times. If Anthony is spotted, enemies will come chasing after him and overpower him within mere seconds. Thus, the player must stealthily navigate the Sukapec Diamond to the best of their ability, taking out enemies from a distance and taking alternative routes if necessary. He must also use electrical powers to spark up inactive machines and light up dark rooms, and use his magnetic powers to push and pull against steel, assuming he acquired these abilities. Aftershock also boasts a good number of puzzles for the player to try and solve, but some can be skipped if the player decides to risk getting caught and flee for their life with some hard-to-nail platforming instead. It's up to the player as for how they wish to beat the game... do you want to do time-consuming puzzles or play the chase game? Throughout the game's world, the player will commonly find "angry chairs", which Anthony can sit upon to save his progress. By channeling his stress through the armrests, he will be able to meditate for long enough to receive full healing. Destroyed enemies or enemy projectiles will drop "energy pellets" that restore small chunks of health for Anthony while also empowering his Aftershock Meter, amplifying the power of his attacks briefly. This is especially true when many energy pellets are collected in quick succession. When Anthony damages bosses, they will occasionally drop energy pellets for him to absorb as well. The only other collectibles in the game are the powerups that Anthony can equip permanently, which he can only find by dispatching of bosses or by looking deep enough for them. These collectibles include brand-new weapons, ability-providing equipment, and muscle-boosting needles. He can also locate Diamonds, of which there are 120 spread across the game's ten levels. The Sukapec Diamond is split into ten lands, each with their own environment and respective gimmicks to match, all taking place over one singular map that's split into several dozens of sub-areas. Many of these areas are gated off to the player until they obtain the means necessary to progress or they find the correct workaround to sneak inside. Backtracking is a common chore in Aftershock to navigate these areas, but high-speed transportation tubes can be taken to reach all the way around the map, with Anthony needing each destination's key to be able to access those respective places. These keys are obtained like collectibles, hidden in the toughest of spots. There is a map at the very top of the screen that tracks where the player is at all times, though it can only be updated every time the player saves the game. Any items that were located on the map but not collected will be denoted with red dots, and all save points that were found will be noted with yellow dots. The HUD for Aftershock works as follows. The Stamina Gauge and Aftershock Meter are located in the upper-right corner, as is an icon of Anthony whose facial expression changes often to reflect the current situation. In the upper-left corner, the player can see how much time has elapsed since beginning the game's save file as well as their score counter. If the player pauses the game, they can see how much of the game's collectibles they've gathered, with unfound weapons and equipment being marked with question marks so to hide what they are. At the very bottom of the screen is a message bar, which will alert the player to events that are currently happening in the Sukapec Diamond. If the player remains idle or if there's not much going on, it will tell about the weather and about the region's politics. Controls The player uses the traditional Sega Genesis controller for Aftershock gameplay. The player uses the D-Pad to left and right ( and ), and holding diagonally will keep the player's movement but allow Anthony to his gun respectively up and down. Run for long enough to really at high velocities. Hold or to directly up or down. The button allows the player to pause the game. lets Anthony into the air, ascending and descending quickly. If is tapped again while the player is holding in any direction of their choice, he will . Should be tapped while Anthony is hugging a wall, he will from it. If he holds against a wall, he will stop sliding down it and in place. He can then move or to adjust his current position on the wall, though at a slouch's pace. Hold while within wind turbulence to drift along with it, and hold or to adjust Anthony's vertical position. allows Anthony to unleash thunderbolts from his weapon. Hold down to the strength and size of the beam. At maximum power, it can damage enemies rather than stun them. + will allow Anthony to zap a thunderbolt automatically towards electric pegs, coating him in electricity- he can and to manipulate the angle he gets released at. + will let Anthony do a to block and counter attacks. Pressing near circuits will let Anthony use to navigate the Sukapec Diamond. lets Anthony use his attack to briefly freeze enemies, locking in enemies in place very briefly but still being useful in emergencies. Holding + has Anthony do a , lighting up dark rooms and empowering machines at will. Hold down to trigger Anthony's , which allows him to drag steel objects back and forth by tugging backwards and forwards respectively. By holding while in magnet mode, he can stick himself to the undersides of steel. Note that many of these abilities have to be acquired first. In the water, Anthony cannot use any of his electric abilities and he will be slowed down significantly. He has a 10-second time limit to escape the water before drowning, as well. Underwater, he can only wall jump, grip ledges, and do simple maneuvers like moving and jumping. Upgrades There are a total of twenty-one upgrades Anthony can equip himself with in Aftershock, including his default Lightning Rod weapon he receives at the beginning of the game. They each serve a vital role in Anthony's gameplay and give him many options to avoid detection from enemies and crawl around unseen. There are six weapons, six powers, six accessories, and six scrolls he may obtain. The remaining upgrades are the Novice Scroll, Pro Scroll, and Master Scroll, which respectively let you use Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 upgrades. Levels are represented by , with representing Level 0. Modes There are four ways the player can play Aftershock. *' ' When the player first selects a file in Aftershock, they will not be able to select their mode, being dropped into "Anthony Mode" straight away. This is the game's main mode and has Anthony Bell head on a quest to save his mother from her developing brain tumor, while shutting down the geomagnetic storm threatening his hometown of Kazapolis and trying to prove himself to be strong against all the odds. *' ' Upon clearing Aftershock 100%, the player can select "Antonia Mode". It's a much harder variation of the usual Aftershock quest, where collectibles are in much tougher-to-reach locations (including upgrades) and where needles only give half as much bulk to Antonia. Enemies and bosses take even more of a beating than before, and Antonia's increased weight makes her somewhat harder to move around. *' ' If the "Antonia Mode" of Aftershock is beaten 100%, the player will be allowed to play "Lightning Mode", where they'll be able to play as the Lightning Thief character. Unlike the previous mode, the Lightning Thief already has all his powers at the start of the adventure, and he doesn't have to face any bosses or enemies. However, hazards are much more all over the place, and platforming puzzles are much tighter. *' ' When Aftershock gets beaten under five hours, the player can participate in the "Boss Rush" mode, where all of the game's bosses can be fought one after the other. The player will have all their upgrades for this series of fights, negating the need to collect them manually. The player will only receive minor healings after each boss fight, so it's wise to take as little damage as possible on the player's part. *' ' The player can adjust music/sound volume controller configuration here, and additionally select whichever music tracks or sound effects they wish to play from the Sound Test. Anthony will be resting underneath his desk, head buried in a magazine advertising grunge music (presumably Nirvana). Characters World Map The Sukapec Diamond is split into ten subareas, taking Anthony from its outskirts to its main base of operations in a somewhat linear fashion, like Metroid II: Return of Samus. Though these areas are visited in linear order, they must be thoroughly explored for their respective upgrades and have their bosses stricken down before Anthony can move on. However, if the player is observant enough, they can figure out how to skip some chunks of the game and thereby save plenty of time, at the cost of being less equipped for the dangers just ahead of them. Enemies There are twenty-eight enemies that will periodically try to stop Anthony throughout the game, divided into four classes. Somewhat like Anthony, the level they're at will determine how many abilities they can use on hand, with higher-level enemies encountered deeper into the game. Enemies at "Level 0" are the most common, while those at "Level 3" are the rarest and toughest to tackle. Most of these enemies are impossible to defeat without upgrading the Lightning Rod or some early improvisation of it, so it's wise to try and make it as strong as you can. Bosses There are thirteen boss characters for Anthony to tear down, with eleven being major bosses and the other two being recurring rivals. They're just like oversized enemies, but with much wider pools of attacks and requiring much more strategy and memorization to be beaten. The major bosses are found at the core of every level while the minor ones are found as Anthony travels to them. Achievements In the Steam and PlayStation ports of Aftershock, there exists numerous achievements and trophies for the player to gather up on their own time: Soundtrack The soundtrack for Aftershock was written and produced by TimeStrike's sound team, taking a dramatically different approach than the ones they took for BowieQuest or Crescent Kicker. The music mostly consists of dark and mystical melodies that lurk in the background, like Super Metroid, with a modern industrial flair that makes the music sound cold and mechanical. The tracks were layered with many different sounds, continuing TimeStrike's reputation for pushing the sound capabilities of the Genesis platform. Its soundtrack was compared to the likes of David Wise's scores for the Donkey Kong Country series, unlike the other two TimeStrike Genesis titles which had their soundtracks respectively based on and frequently compared to Western music and hip hop music. The game's soundtrack was fully remastered in 2015 on the game's 20th anniversary, given an official release on Spotify, though TimeStrike stated there would not be plans to remaster the original game. Gallery File:EricAftershockPainted.png|Anthony Bell File:Aftershock Logo.png|Logo Trivia *Anthony Bell's character was greatly inspired by Unten's. Category:Original Games Category:Platforming Games Category:Stealth Games Category:Sega Genesis Games Category:TimeStrike Products Category:1995